I SAW THE LIGHT – Rated R

Torn from the history of America’s Folk and Country Western Music beginnings ~ Director/Writer Marc Abraham takes along into the fast rising career and hard living life of Country Legend HANK WILLIAMS ~ this is I SAW THE LIGHT…

With a gleam in his eye, and a sound ALL HIS OWN, young music talent Hank Williams (Tom Hiddleston) is working tirelessly to become a mainstay in Country Western music. When he meets the beautiful and talented Audrey Mae (Elizabeth Olsen), who also wants to be a country music Star, things heat up in their musical aspirations… and in the bedroom…

As Hank’s hard work starts to pay off, when his ultimate dream of hitting the stage at the Grand Old Opry has finally arrived ~ it seems that all this success is only making a big mess of his family life at home ~ as Audrey never planned on being just a “stay at home mama” with her little girl, and Hank Jr. now in tow…

Dealing with health issues that are exacerbated by his drive to perform whenever and wherever day and night, Hank finds himself struggling to keep his family in tact, and his star on the rise…

Torn between pleasing his mama, his now ex-wife, and the new love he was destined to find, Hank’s bound and determined to stay on this treadmill he has created, till his dying day…

I give I SAW THE LIGHT a rating between: MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN and WAIT AND CATCH IT ON DVD ~ Having listened to country music all my life ~ thanks to the passion that my father had for this genre of music, ~ it was ALL WE LISTENED TO GROWING UP ~ it was fantastic to hear these songs from my past echoing through the Tivoli theater as I watched the advanced screening of this film. Hiddleston is absolutely mesmerizing as Williams ~ it’s as if he has transformed himself into the country music legend hook, line and sinker. From his looks, to his mannerisms and moves, and most of all, to his singing as close to Hank as humanly possible, (Yes, he sings all the songs throughout the film too) Hiddleston’s commitment in playing Williams is extraordinary. So if Hiddleston is so fabulous…why the in between review? Even with HIddleston’s best performance to date happening on screen, portions of this film just seemed to drag on for me. Maybe it was the extended focus on Williams drinking and philandering that needed to move a little faster (no pun intended), but this film as a whole just wasn’t as mesmerizing as it’s star and his performances. Olsen’s performance was just okay, as she can’t hold a candle to Hiddleston especially when they are both on screen, but I did love the short but commanding performances by Cherry Jones as Hank’s mama Lillie, and Maddie Hasson as Billie Jean Jones-Williams when it was all said and done. If you love country western music, or just want to catch Hiddleston transform himself from Classic English Actor to Country Western Crooner in every way, then head on out to a theater near you to catch this film for sure…but if you ain’t feeling like this is going to be your cup of tea for a night of viewing on the big screen, then you can wait and catch this musical biopic of the incredibly talented, yet gone way to soon Williams on DVD.